Fourth of July workout!

Hey campers,

I hope you all have a Happy 4th of July weekend.  I also hope you got some great workouts in over the last week while we’ve been on a boot camp break!

In the event you’ve got a busy weekend planned, I decided to create a quick, high intensity workout you could squeeze into your weekend.  We’ve got lots of “newbies” signed up for July boot camps, so I decided that it would help to have a visual aide for this workout since you new folks may not be familiar with all the exercises I list below.

Below you’ll find a short video of all the exercises in the workout, complete with advanced options.  And, as in my last video, my dog managed to get in a cameo appearance again.  I put him in the house when I started the video, but he managed to sneak outside.  He probably wanted to show off his “summer cut”.

Here is your weekend “Firecracker” workout:

After a warm up of 5 or  6 minutes, perform each exercise listed for 45 seconds, followed by 15 seconds of rest.  Perform the circuit 3 times through.

Jumping jacks

Walking lunges

Squats

High Knee run

Burpees

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LAcW3i-5SY[/youtube]

There is one “typo” in the video. It suggests you do the circuit 5 times.  It should say “3 times”.  There’s nothing wrong with doing the circuit 5 times…..but I think you’ll be done in 3 rounds :-).

Happy 4th of July!

Leave me a comment below and let me know how the workout goes for you.

Committed to your success,

Becky

A super fast strength training routine

Before I tell you about my latest super-fast strength training routine, I want to give a warm welcome to all my “newbie” campers!

Almaden bootcamp:  Welcome to Kristi, Janti and William.  Even though you were sore from workouts earlier in the week, you guys did an excellent job on the obstacle course today!

Campbell boot camp:  Welcome to Lisa, Noelle and Renu.  You guys are hard workers and it’s great to see you blending right in with the “veterans”.

Willow Glen “FitCamp for Women over 40”: Welcome to Angela, Shadie and Gloria.  Woo Hoo!  You ladies rock!  I saw some serious effort during your interval training segments this week.  Well done!.

A number of you “newbies” have approached me to talk about your fat loss goals.  I can tell you’re really motivated.  I suspect that we’re going to see some serious fat loss happening this month!

Speaking of fat loss…………strength training is key to revving your metabolism and helping you burn calories all day long.  So, I’ll share with you below the workout I did the other day at my gym.  If you have dumbbells at home, you can do this workout at home.  It took me 22 minutes, and I worked all my major muscle groups.

I did three sets of each superset with no rest in between the exercises.  When I had completed three sets of a particular superset, I rested for one minute before beginning the next superset. 

I did 12 repetitions per set unless otherwise noted.  I used dumbbells that fatigued me by the last few repetitions of the set.

 

A1:  Push ups (15 reps)

A2:  Dumbbell squats


B1:  Assisted pull ups (if you’re at home, substitute dumbbell bent over rows)

B2:  Dips


C1:  Step ups with dumbbells

C2:  Dumbbell shoulder press 

 

Doing a “superset” routine is a great way to get a strength workout completed without being in the gym forever.  If you need to get another strength training session in this weekend, give this one a try!

 

Committed to your success,

 

Becky

A Workout to Blast Your Belly Fat

Of course, there is no way to spot reduce our body fat, but as I mentioned in a post a few days ago, high intensity exercise does seem to favor fat mobilization from the abdominal area.

So, just in case you all in my San Jose Boot Camp (Almaden/Cambrian) or Jackie’s Los Gatos Boot Camp didn’t make it to class this week (yeah, you know who you are!!!), I’ve written up a “no equipment needed” workout for you.  Bonus points to the folks who attended all their classes this week and STILL do the workout.  Chime in here by leaving a comment if you complete your workout this weekend.

“Fit and Fabulous” ladies from my Willow Glen boot camp for Baby Boomers: You’ve got some homework in the form of your take-home lesson from Thursdays class, “Home Circuit #4”, but you can add the workout below into your weekend plan if you’d like.  Modify some of the movements if you need to.

Please remember to have a good, full body warm up before you start, and allow time to cool down, drink water and stretch after working out.

On your 1 minute cardio segments, attempt to exercise at an intensity of  “8” or “9” on our scale of 1-10.

Here is your workout:

Step ups on a bench or porch step- 1 minute

Push ups- 15 repetitions

Jumping Jacks- 1 minute

Dips- 15 repetitions

High knees (or jog) in place- 1 min

Walking lunges- 15 out, 15 back

Rest 1 minute

Repeat  circuit 1-2 more times for a quick but effective high intensity workout!

Current campers, don’t forget that you can grab your early bird discount up until Monday, April 27th for the Almaden camp, and Tuesday, April 28th for the Los Gatos and Willow Glen camps.   

Registration remains open at the regular price for new and returning boot campers through Thursday, April 30th.

Log on now to secure your spot!  www.lifesportbootcamp.com

BTW:   Jackie is out of town next week, so “yours truly” will be your instructor at our Los Gatos location next week :-).  Be there!

Have a great weekend!

Becky